Macbeth - Social Historical Context

Select one statement that is false.

• Consumed with ambitious thoughts and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and seizes the throne for himself.

• Macbeth never acts of his own accord. Lady Macbeth and/or the witches are behind his every action.

• Macbeth begins his reign racked with guilt and fear and soon becomes a tyrannical ruler, as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion.

• The bloodbath swiftly propels Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to arrogance, madness, and death.

Select two statements which makes the year Macbeth was first performed (1606) significant.

• In 1603, Elizabeth died and James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne

• As King of Scotland, particularly during the 1580s and 1590s, James became a patron of the arts to promote Scottish literature.

• In 1605, a group of English Catholics failed an assassination attempt against King James I, called the Gunpowder Plot

• James attempted to encourage European peace. In 1604, he ended the long-running war with Spain and tried to arrange a marriage between his son and the Spanish Infanta.

What is the Great Chain of Being and why is it a major influencer of 'Macbeth'? Select two.

• Elizabethans believed that God set out an order for everything in the universe.

• It was believed that God was at the top of the chain and everything is below Him.

• Macbeth's wants to rebel against the Great Chain of Being and challenge God's hierarchy.

• Macbeth disturbs the natural order of things by murdering the king and stealing the throne. This throws all of nature into uproar.

The Divine Right of King means...

• the king or queen could do whatever they liked.

• the king or queen were handsome and held the power to rule.

• the king or queen was put in charge by God and they were only answerable to God.

Select two examples from 'Macbeth' which show the disorder in nature following Duncan's murder.

• horses in their stables went mad and ate each other

• darkness has taken over daybreak

• a falcon killed an owl

• strange screams of the devil were heard

Select the two statements that are true:

• Witches were thought to be the agents of Satan, trapping men and women into his power.

• all witches were women and were hung, burned at the stake or drowned.

• It was normal for kings or queens to visit and have dealings with witches.

• James I thought a group of witches had raised a storm and tried to drown him, and tightened up laws against witchcraft in 1604.

What word is used to describe a Jacobean society which means men were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors?

Select two gender stereotypes of the Jacobean era.

• Women were expected to be mothers and housewives, while men were breadwinners.

• All women were regarded as weak, fragile and emotional and without any power.

• Women were regarded as "the weaker sex" - terms of physical strength, and emotionally.

• As the head of the marriage, husbands were expected to command his wife to do anything he pleased.

Why was childbearing considered to be a great honour to women?

Who played women's roles in Shakespeare's plays?